Bushnell, Florida—At the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the United States Attorney’s Office, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), in conjunction with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and Henry County Sheriff’s Office, assisted in a multi-state, federal dog fighting raid in Missouri, Kansas and Texas this past weekend. The ASPCA managed the removal and transport, with assistance from the Sumter Disaster Animal Response Team, of nearly 100 dogs involved in the investigation.

A search warrant was executed Saturday night in Kansas, after the FBI raided a location suspected of holding a contract dog fight in north Texas. The ASPCA and other agencies, including the Humane Society of North Texas (HSNT), assisted in the seizure of the dogs. Two additional warrants were served Sunday morning for the removal of the dogs in Missouri.

Matt Bershadker, senior vice president of the ASPCA’s Anti-Cruelty Group stated: “We are pleased to be able to assist federal, state and local agencies in such a massive investigation, and to safely bring the animals to our temporary shelter where they will receive much-needed care and treatment.”

The dogs were transferred by Sumter Disaster Animal Transport Team members to a temporary shelter in an undisclosed location where they will receive veterinary care from the ASPCA’s medical team, led by Dr. Sarah Kirk, medical director of ASPCA Field Investigations and Response. The HSNT will manage the transport of dogs seized from the Texas investigation. Agencies assisting the ASPCA with the sheltering operation include: Wayside Waifs (Kansas City, Mo.); International Fund for Animal Welfare (Yarmouth Port, Mass.); Nebraska Humane Society (Omaha, Ne.); Humane Society ofNorth Texas (Fort Worth, Texas); Dallas Animal Services (Dallas, Texas); andGreat Plains SPCA (Merriam, Kan.).

The ASPCA Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) team, assisting under the direction of the FBI, is collecting forensic evidence to be submitted for prosecution. The CSI teambrings state-of-the-art forensics tools and expertise to crime scenes in order to strengthen cases. The ASPCA will also collect DNAsamples from the dogs and submit them to Canine CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), the nation’s first criminal dog-fighting DNAdatabase, which will help law enforcement agencies identify relationshipsbetween dogs and enable investigators to establish connections betweenbreeders, trainers and dog fighting operators.

The ASPCA was contacted for assistance by the FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol in the criminal investigation, evidence collection, rescueand sheltering efforts of the case. The ASPCA has assisted local and federalauthorities in previous dog fighting cases, including the largest dog fighting seizure in U.S. history in Missouri in 2009,and the following yearestablished its Blood Sports unit to investigate dog fighting and cockfightingacross the country.

Dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states and the District ofColumbia. Additional illegal activities are often connected with dog fighting,such as drug and weapons violations. Earlier this year, the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act was reintroduced in the U.S. Congress, whichwould make it a federal offense to attend an organized animal fight and imposeadditional penalties for bringing a minor to a fight. For more information onthe ASPCA’s efforts to tackle animal fighting and to join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade,please click here.

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Help other humane organizations as well as county agencies when animals are in need.

Assist shelters with transfer and transport to decreaseeuthanasia and increase adoptions in communities where adoptions are greater.

Assist shelters with developing spay/neuter programs in their communities to decrease euthanasia.

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Memorandum of understanding with shelters for evacuation during disaster.

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About the ASPCA®

Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (TheAmerican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is thefirst animal welfare organization in North America and serves as the nation’sleading voice for animals. More than two million supporters strong, the ASPCA’smission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animalsthroughout the United States. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, theASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach andanimal health services. For more information, please visit www.ASPCA.org, and be sure to follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter,and Pinterest.